New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-23
PLAIN Words ABOUT LABOR.
WHOLESOME TRUTH FHoM. 4 WORKING
NAN.
EXTRACTS FROM An ARTICLE ny 4 Yoy-UNlOx NAN
FvoM The Ip<krpea1pxi Wov>ftpnn

1
EXTRACTS FROM An ARTICLE ny 4 Yoy-UNlOX MAN
| Fve~ he I~skspaxaest Workman
ArHr Ah the suffering. nAssry. and loss maictad on
labor by the strikes OF the past rev yesyA ID moi
ass himself II the aboitive methods OF organizes labor
with Its tyrannical edicts and sa arbitrary control
nave not inflicted On him more sbso'ute suffering and
misery than II mas ever coneiYed him bened--arG
misery than be PEI fenced from the Oppression
Of united cap'ta Never before In tie history the
world has any body OF ciyiitsei men So completely
surrendered their personsl rights and their pcfsonsl
liberties and reduced themselves to such condition
OF abject slavery. as the mechsncs and labo, OF
this land have within the line. of the socaed no
tectve Unions ls IL time that the workingmen Of
these United Ststes shsuld nae in their might and
proclaim u the world the Independence OF the work
fnxman, and the risht of every to himself ana his
owa labor. TO use that labor he ~Ii and hen he
will unquestioned BY any other mani 10 not time
bis own hands, uncontrolled by councils. answsd By
| the edicts OF master workmeu, unterri6.d bS the
threats OF walking dsles s,esi weskingm.ns l.bo!
is hs capital In the OF thst capital bis individual
will should DO supreme: If weak. be should be sup
ported in that ht ii il took che whoie power OF ths
Governneut 70 do IT,
| THE STRIKE IN THE SOUTHWEST.
Later still strike occurred in tho Wese This time
labor encountered one Of the srcstast fnancers OF
the age Jay Gould, and OF the power tul rail-
hnad corporations In the Union, the Missouri Pacific.
The st,ngse was protracted to, months, travel
lmpeded, property destroyed lveswerc taken-but in
every instance they were the lives poor men
capitalist Was harmed, NOT huanelef injured to
destroyed within tire city of ST. Louis the civ of ST.
did no" .se sd Ssa, g.
companies and the State Of Missouri 40 that every
dollar OF the loss came ont Of the poor q Lass in
worc, and for extra rent on the roo that sheltered
him. lbe strike ended; men who had been empioycd
Dy the raj 70 ten, fifteen and twenty years, siGdnly
70 md themselves without employment The COM
pany had other men IA Their pIsesa and would Dot
take them back: No men cared to employ those who
might turn on them at any moment and rena them,
m oeudf ytl na1t fha ~ int
the strike were utterly ana h0peiesaly ruined.
And now let us sec how ii Jared with Mr.. Goud,
The first now. Of the strike sent issouri Pacific from
II down to 81 the strikers were Wild with delight
Did this dismay Mr. Gould Not bit he wenr INTO
the confess With the most powerful labor combination
that this cot ntry has practically sngielSudcd
and alone. He had confront the combined POWER of
all the labor organizations IN the land and the bitter
preJudi,es OF many of his class dc emerged
rom th@ conflict without \ scar and a. the 40
knowledsed champ on OF order and OF Law, tue de-
man with trmer bold on all OF his properties than
he ever had before since he entered public lite.
What did 1t do tor labor Every man injured by tho
strike was poor man, every man killed was a poor
man, every thrown out Of employment was poor
man, every family tna sufferer In luence OF the
strike was poor man's family. All this suffering was
IN consequence OF the pour mans act Veri. verify,
poverty wac the victim there. The poor took the
stripes aud soldering. capital escaped unframed
LOSSES TO LABOR.
The loss to labor by the strikes OF the past few
dol"Is and OF tina enormous sum. every dollar has
been contributed by labor and not one cent has been
contributed by capital. II the hundreds Of millions
strikes had been invested in BONES Tor the
labor. ng men, would not thelr condition have oeeu
betUered Last spring there was great labor
demonstration in the City OF New-fork Twenty-Five
and marched IN the PROCESSION the majority
of these repre- sented sklrd labor and IT 10 safe to
say that the labor OF these twenty thousand men tor
that day represented $62O0O; there were fifty bands
OF music at $l00$5. 600; transport ton. banners
and incidents.s. $4,000 Tho afternoon was given
to ies:ivity and teasting All Ct tie uptown park:
drinking snd joyous congratulations at the magnih-
OF the strike, and very reasonable ex
pendltnre would be one dollar head-nskIng
$50 900 more, round numbers 800 600 tor that
single days parade This wonld have bnilt hrdred
SIMPLE them aud tneir families forever. Ii would
have started cooperative storevhefe thousands OF
u-n mi. he have got their goods at q reduction OF
nearly onehalt Labor lost il capital did not give
q dolla aid the menace to capital avail them to
the value Of sing mill II capital had attempted TO
take from labor IN single day 10000, what .
howl would have gone mp about the tyranny of capital
IL not then cry halt are rot the exactoBs
and taxes OF Organized labor and more
burden than they have experienced a ON
capital II not on strike yourself, you are liable to
be- taxed TO support lot OF mea with whom You have
frequently reitheI sympsthy nor siliaton The POOR
laborn2 in NewYVrk is taxed to-day to support
the Jersey coal strikers who are be CAUSE OF all hs
mi.ery and saferisg in this hi ter winter time Ts
every thinking man there 10 something radically
wrong in he efort OF organized labor to make the
skilled dTore the equa! of the skltul mechanic.
other words, 10 reduce all men 10 common level.
where genias industry and skill shall have no weight
in solving the prvDlt N CT lite.
IL is sale to cay, and here appeal to what every
workngman knows tnat there has not been is much
suffering the ranks vi labor in the memory OF living
there has iern in the past Two years and these
two years represent the test Efforts aud results and
blessings OF nited iboi and, furthermore, united
labor has inflicted more suffering and misery the
Ia sor ng and the mechan. and exercised a more
arbitrary control his liberties, than cal itl
dared attempt Ia the most oppressive OF its
Ia haas toll kIe urat le3 a
freedom this land, and made the sborer moro OF
,lsve than the southern negro was before the war
IL has denied the night % tree man to his own soor
it has hcdgcd hin in with Laws more arbitrary and
p,tless than the laws oil Draco
1 he walking dslegste Is new institution in America,
and no INDIGENOUS to AmericaI soil than the
boycott. The boycott n two edged sword, it cuts
both ways. and the who seek to invoke that bar
barons power must not be surprised II the boycots
met W th it's natural offset, the black list
The chanic and the laburer refuse to be coerced
by the emp by what system Of reasoning then,
il the worsmeo refuse to he coerced bs the employer
,an one gnan claim the right an0taer
FORK nsman The most that tho employer does 10 To
refuse pay certain rate OF wages or to accede to
certain hours Of labor the tree to rejecr or
accept the terms ohered 10 carry his labor TO .
hig der bidder. He does not and dare not attempt to
IN his DEGREES by personal violence on his en-
Dloye; vet il the laborer the mechanic dufcts
rom his fellows to what Is best for him and bis
family, no does sometimes as the peril OF MS hfe
What kind OF Government is that which allows
nan who obeys the to be driven tom his work
because he 10 weak and poor With . mass OF labor
ln,vns II IS simply question Of force. man has
,erfect rght 70 refuse to work. but there his right
,ncs He bas no right tu denv to any other nan the
ame righta that he claims tor himself The subst tn
ION brute force Tor reason. hike the substitution
u the court Judge Lynch FOR tho regular forms OF
aw; and brute forcs g aud always was the most
,bhorrent and barbarOus form Of human government
ASSISTANT SECRETARY PORTER IN FIX
Prom The LouisrfIis Courier Journal.
An instance is related here In whiehthe Adminis-
ration kas placed itself in embarr ssing position,
and " probably ready to hire Boyarius kicker
AZ n.,sona annhcatiou Early In the history of this